New Living Translation
2 Kings 6:25
25As a result, there was a great famine in the city. The siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty pieces of silver, and a cup of dove’s dung sold for five pieces of silver.
2 Kings 6:25 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass’s head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver.
- New International Version (NIV)There was a great famine in the city; the siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a quarter of a cab of seed pods for five shekels.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And there was a great famine in Samaria, as they besieged it, until a donkey's head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and the fourth part of a kab of dove's dung for five shekels of silver.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And there was a great famine in Samaria; and indeed they besieged it until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and one-fourth of a kab of dove droppings for five shekels of silver.
Context of 2 Kings 6:25
23So the king made a great feast for them and then sent them home to their master. After that, the Aramean raiders stayed away from the land of Israel. 24Some time later, however, King Ben-hadad of Aram mustered his entire army and besieged Samaria. As a result, there was a great famine in the city. The siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty pieces of silver, and a cup of dove’s dung sold for five pieces of silver. 26One day as the king of Israel was walking along the wall of the city, a woman called to him, “Please help me, my lord the king!” 27He answered, “If the Lord doesn’t help you, what can I do? I have neither food from the threshing floor nor wine from the press to give you.”
Read all of 2 Kings 62 Kings 6:25 word by word
וַיְהִ֨י רָעָ֤ב גָּדוֹל֙ בְּשֹׁ֣מְר֔וֹן וְהִנֵּ֖ה צָרִ֣ים עָלֶ֑יהָ עַ֣ד הֱי֤וֹת רֹאשׁ־חֲמוֹר֙ בִּשְׁמֹנִ֣ים כֶּ֔סֶף וְרֹ֛בַע הַקַּ֥ב דִּבְיוֹנִ֖ים בַּחֲמִשָּׁה־כָֽסֶף׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And there was a greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
- famineרָעָבrâ‛âb · famineH7458
- in Samariaשֹׁמְרוֹןshômerôn · SamariaH8111
- and, behold, they besiegedצוּרtsûr · to confineH6696
- it, until an ass’sחֲמוֹרchămôr chămôr · donkeyH2543
- headרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
- for fourscoreשְׁמֹנִיםshemônîym shemônîym · eightyH8084
- of silverכֶּ֫סֶףkeseph · silver: moneyH3701
- and the fourth partרֹ֫בַעrôba‛ · fourthH7255
- of a cabקַבqab · kabH6894
- of dove’s dungחֲרֵי־יוֹנִיםchărêy-yônîym chărâ'yôn · dove-dungH2755
- of dove’s dungיוֹנָהyônâh · doveH3123
- of dove’s dungדִּבְיוֹנִיםdibyôn cheryôn · quanoH1686
- for fiveחָמֵשׁchâmêsh chămishshâh · fiveH2568
Cross-references for 2 Kings 6:25
- 2 Kings 6:28But then the king asked, “What is the matter?” She replied, “This woman said to me: ‘Come on, let’s eat your son today, then we will eat my son tomorrow.’
- 2 Kings 7:4“We will starve if we stay here, but with the famine in the city, we will starve if we go back there. So we might as well go out and surrender to the Aramean army. If they let us live, so much the better. But if they kill us, we would have died anyway.”
- 2 Kings 25:3By July 18 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign, the famine in the city had become very severe, and the last of the food was entirely gone.
- 1 Kings 18:2So Elijah went to appear before Ahab. Meanwhile, the famine had become very severe in Samaria.
- Jeremiah 14:13Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord, their prophets are telling them, ‘All is well—no war or famine will come. The Lord will surely send you peace.’”
- Jeremiah 32:24“See how the siege ramps have been built against the city walls! Through war, famine, and disease, the city will be handed over to the Babylonians, who will conquer it. Everything has happened just as you said.
- Jeremiah 52:6By July 18 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign, the famine in the city had become very severe, and the last of the food was entirely gone.
- Ezekiel 4:13Then the Lord said, “This is how Israel will eat defiled bread in the Gentile lands to which I will banish them!”
Commentaries on 2 Kings 6:25
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 25And, behold, they besieged it - They had closed it in on every side, and reduced it to the greatest necessity. An ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver - I suppose we are to take the ass's head literally; and if the head sold for so much, what must other parts sell for which were much to be preferred? The famine must be great that could oblige them to eat any part of an animal that was proscribed by the law; and it must be still greater that…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 25As the donkey was “unclean,” it would not be eaten except in the last resort; and its head would be its worst and cheapest part. Cab - This measure is not mentioned elsewhere in Scripture. According to the rabbinical writers it was the smallest of all the dry measures in use among the Jews, being the sixth part of a seah, which was the third part of an ephah. If it was about equal to two of our quarts, the “fourth part of a cab” would be about a pint…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 24-33Verses 24-33 Learn to value plenty, and to be thankful for it; see how contemptible money is, when in time of famine it is so freely parted with for any thing that is eatable! The language of Jehoram to the woman may be the language of despair. See the word of God fulfilled; among the threatenings of God's judgments upon Israel for their sins, this was one, that they should eat the flesh of their own children, De 28:53-57. The truth and the awful justice…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 24-25The famine was so severe that people ate and sold normally forbidden foods at high prices. For example, donkey meat was forbidden in the laws about unclean foods (Leviticus 11:1–7). Dove's dung might have been a type of wild vegetable, but during sieges, people sometimes ate dung (Isaiah 36:12). The dove's dung might also have been used as fuel.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2525. an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver--Though the ass was deemed unclean food, necessity might warrant their violation of a positive law when mothers, in their extremity, were found violating the law of nature. The head was the worst part of the animal. Eighty pieces of silver, equal to £5 5s. the fourth part of a cab--A cab was the smallest dry measure. The proportion here stated was nearly half a pint for 12s. 6d. dove's dung--is…Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Kings 6:25
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 2 Kings 6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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